REMEMBER THE CORK. What then? Does this prove that there is not a God under whose eye you must live, and by whom you must be judged? Does it begin to prove that there is no hell and no heaven? Hypocrites in the Church! And are there not counterfeit bills, counterfeit gold, and silver, and precious stones? Would you refuse a beautiful diamond, if offered you, because there are a great many counterfeits? Hypocrites in the Church of God! And is this a reason why you should be a hypocrite in that Church, or openly serve the devil without the Church? There is a man at your right hand whom you acknowledge to be noble, great, kind, and good. He asks you to enter his service, and you refuse. Why do you? Is his service difficult? No. Are his wages poor? No, none could be better. Is he unfaithful to his word? No, he never yet broke a promise. Why, then, do you hesitate? Because, say you, I am afraid that all who serve him are not his sincere friends! But, say you, many commence the work of being Christians, and then fall back, and disgrace the cause. And do they not do so in every other cause? Do all make good merchants, good mechanics, good husbands, good fathers, or are all good in any department into which men enter? We know that many went back, and walked no more with Jesus Christ; but would that have excused Peter and John if they had done so? We know that one of the twelve apostles was a hypocrite, and sold his Master; but would that have excused the other eleven if they had left Christ? We know that the unclean spirit may go out of a man for a time, and he may profess, during that time, to enter into the service of God; and the unclean spirit may return with seven others more wicked than himself, and they may make the last state of that man worse than the first; but is this an excuse for standing off, and not serving or obeying God? Then, as to the sins and the imperfections of Christians, on no point, probably, do men deceive themselves more than on this. They profess to admire the religion of Jesus Christ, but cannot endure the faults of his people. But they will palliate and excuse all these faults, and many more, in their companions and associates. They will cherish the same sins in their own bosoms. So that it is not the sins of the Church of God that troubles them so much. It is not that Christians have too little religion, that disqualifies them for your taste, but because they have so much. Let a professed Christian commit an open sin, and you are shocked, and proclaim it from the house-tops; let an irreligious man do the same thing, and you do not grieve over it. I speak of this to show you that you greatly deceive yourself when you suppose that it is the imperfections of God's people that keeps you from obeying him. Imperfections they have, and most deeply should they be mourned over; but can he sincerely mourn over them, when he does not mourn over the sins of his unconverted companions, or of his own heart? Because, after serving God for a time-a mere moment, compared with eternity-Satan and his angels chose to draw back and serve him no longer, 203 is this a reason why Michael and all the holy angels of heaven should do so too? What if some do profess to enter upon the service of God and soon draw back, is this a reason why you should do that, or even worse than that? But I do not, say you, believe in that strictness and severity of God which you so unceasingly hold up. I do not believe in that eternal hell for the sins of a short life. Ah! and where did you find the notes of that sermon? Precisely the sermon which Satan, the great liar, delivered in Eden six thousand years ago: "Ye shall not surely die!" God will not fulfil the threatening, and send his curse upon you for this one little sin, if it be sin! What! if you do not believe that God will turn the wicked into hell, and all the nations that forget him, does this make it certain that he will not? Because, in the buoyancy of youth, and under the strong stimulus of hope, you are able to persuade yourself that the Bible is not God's word, or that some part of it is not his word, does that prove that you can live and die as you now are, and be eternally happy? But, says one, I am my own master, and I am determined to have my own way. Are you your own? Did you create yourself? Why, then, did you not give yourself an angel's intellect and an angel's greatness? Why will you, in a few years, be in the grave, or be a feeble old man, creeping towards the grave? Why can you not ward off the strokes of disease and the arrows of death? Have you your own way, my young friend! Ah! it is your own way, in distinction from the way of wisdom, the way of life-the way of God. And where will that way lead you? At what place will it land you? And to what kind of existence in the eternal world will it lead you? Will my young, inexperienced friend thus tear himself away from God's protection, and, like the foolish beast that takes the bit between his teeth, imagine that he can run away from his destiny, and shake off the government of the infinite God?-Todd. REMEMBER THE CORK. WHEN Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was unwell, King James II. sent an Irish priest to convert him to Popery. The Duke apprized of the visit and its object, very courteously received the priest, and expressed great willingness to be instructed. But before they entered upon religious discussion, it was agreed that they should drink a glass of wine together. After they had drank a while, the Duke took the cork out of the bottle, and stroking it with great gravity, asked the priest: "How do you like this horse?" The priest was confounded and silent. The Duke continued all the while to stroke the cork, and raise his beautiful horse. "Your grace," at length said the priest," has chosen an unseasonable time to be merry." Merry!" cries the Duke; "Merry! I was never more serious in my life. Does not your reverence see that this is a beautiful horse ?" "Your grace," replies the father," should compose yourself, and consider." "Consider ?" answers the Duke, smartly, "what must I consider? Don't you sec how fine a horse it is ?" "Oh," said the priest, don't be foolish-it is surely a poor joke to call a cork a horse!" "What! would you persuade me that so fine a courser is nothing but a cork ?" "Nothing but a cork," says the father. "Well," replies the Duke, calmly, as if recovering from a dream, "I will not be too positive-my illness may have discomposed my mind; but how do you prove that it is not a horse ?" And saying this, he looked as if very insane. The priest, by way of settling the question, replied: "My dear Lord Duke, you must see the thing is nonsense. You took what you call your horse out of that bottle a few minutes ago; and if you are not out of your senses, you must know that it is simply a cork." Oh, well, well," said the Duke, "your reverence may be right, I am subject to whims; let us talk no more of the cork, but proceed to the holy business which brought you hither." The priest then entered on points controverted between Papists and Protestants, and continued until the Duke said: "If your reverence can prove to me the doctrine of transubstantiation, I can easily believe all the rest." This the priest commenced to do in the best way he could, and concluded by asking the Duke if he did not think the transubstantiation believed in by the Romish Church both possible and true. The Duke listened very attentively to all he had to say, and answered the question thus: "You thought me foolish, perhaps suspected me getting insane, when I spoke of a cork as a horse-your assertion of bread and wine being the actual body and blood of Christ is every whit as absurd, and a little more profane. Out of your own mouth are you condemned. You take a piece of bread out of a box, pronounce a few words over it, and then declare it changed into flesh and blood. You must see that the thing is nonsense, if not worse. If you are not out of your senses, it cannot but be evident to you that it is bread still, and nothing else. Remember the cork, father; remember the cork!" During the last two months of his illness, no day passed in which he did not on several occasions render testimony of his faith. Toward the end of that time especially, he showed great eagerness for the reading of the Bible and prayer. He usually accompanied it with remarks full of feeling. He expressed his thankfulness to the Lord for having given him pious parents, and prayed him to comfort them concerning his death. He prayed for his brothers and sister-for his friends for the sick-for the poor; indeed he forgot nobody. One day he sent for one of of his friends, and addressed him with the most urgent exhortations to prevail on him to give his heart to the Lord. Three days before his death, he caused the little money he had collected to be brought him, and he bequeathed part of it to two religious societies, and the rest to his brothers and sister. On another day he called his father, and said to him: "I would address some words to my sister and brothers; but they are too young to understand me. This, then, is what we shall do. I shall dictate to you a letter for each of them, and when they shall be more advanced in age, I shall be no more; but you will show them my letter, and in this way they will remember a brother who loved them, and God may bless it to their souls." Accordingly, on the second day following, he dictated the proposed letters to his father. On the morning that he died his pains were extreme. He prayed fervently, but mentally, be cause his difficult respiration did not permit him to speak. In a moment of agony he exclaimed: "Lord, support me by thy grace!" At the same instant his countenance resumed its calm expression, and he said with a strong voice: "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." In a minute after repeating these words, he slept-to awake in the resurrection of the just. TO A DAISY. LOWLY crimson-crested flower, To heaven's pure shrine- MARION AIRD. A CHILD'S REBUKE. SEVERAL years ago, a country town was blessed with a revival of religion. One evening Mrs and her little daughter attended a meeting, and while the minister was speaking of the neglect of family duties, of reading the Scriptures, and of family prayer, the little daughter, who listened attentively, and perceived that the preacher was describing a neglect that she had noticed herself, whispered to her mother, " Ma, is the minister talking to you ?" To the mother this simple question was more powerful than the sermon. She was immediately brought under deep convictions of sin, which resulted in her hopeful conversion to God. JOHN NEWTONS TABLE-TALK. IN divinity, as well as in other professions, there the buttons of a statue very neatly, but I do not call are the little artists. A man may be able to execute him an able artist. There is an air, there is a taste, to which his narrow capacity cannot attain. Now, in the Church there are your dexterous buttonmakers. I would not give a straw for that assurance which sin will not damp. If David had come from his adulterous bed and talked of his assurance at that time, I should have despised his speech. When a man says he has received a blessing under a sermon, I begin to inquire who this man is. The Roman people proved the effect they received from a sermon of Antony, when they flew to revenge the death of Cæsar. The Lord has reason far beyond our ken, for opening a wide door, when he stops the mouth of a useful preacher. John Bunyan would not have done half the good he did, if he had remained preaching in Bedford, instead of being shut up in Bedford prison. THE CHRISTIAN TREASURY. 205 SCIENCE AND CHRISTIANITY COMPARED.* BY F. A. COX, D. D., LL. D., HACKNEY. opposed. THE power of thought, the capacity of acquiring | lent in science and in religion. Nor are these, knowledge, and the prerogative of immortality, though commonly disjoined, incompatible or constitute the greatness of man. Instinctive nature, indeed, appears to be possessed of faculties which are allied to thought; but there is no evidence that animals can appreciate what is invisible and future, or that they are capable of making progression in knowledge; and if unable to traverse the paths of science, much less can they attain to spiritual understanding and religion. The eagerness with which men of science pursue their object is admirable. It is a fine exercise of the intellectual powers to engage in the study of the Creator's works-to trace the causes of external phenomena-to dive into the arcana of nature-to watch the wandering planet, and calculate the movements of the eccentric comet-to ascertain the various subtle influences that pervade the universe, magnetic, · electrical, chemical, or of whatever kind, and thus to fill the mind with subjects of noble contemplation and useful inquiry. Instead of depreciating the pursuits of general science, | we hail them, and feel our spirits elevated and dignified, as a part of common humanity, when tracing the splendid discoveries of men whose names are dear to fame, and bright with honour. Without in the least degree disparaging that which is excellent, we may point out that which is more so, in order to persuade to the pursuit of it-to impress the reader with a due sense of its superiority-to urge him, while giving the intellect to science, to give the heart to Christ; and while, perhaps, he is virtually saying, with a laudable curiosity, "O that I knew the character of yonder celestial appearances, or the law of those secret affinities, or the peculiarities of those subtle essences and powers," to induce the devouter, more needful, more spiritual desire breathed forth in the words of an apostle : "That I may know HIM, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, and be made conformed to his death!" We propose, then, to consider the pre-eminent worth of the knowledge of Christ, understanding by that knowledge, not only the truth of his cha racter and the facts of his personal history, but that also which is distinctively termed experimental knowledge, implying faith in him, union to him, and a personal interest in the blessings he came to bestow. The knowledge in question partakes of a peculiar character, arising from the nature of the case, that is, from the There is, however, an evil incidental to this general purpose for which the Saviour visited class of intellectual pursuits which ought not our world; and this imparts peculiarity to the to be overlooked, and an inherent character of apostolic language. It cannot simply mean inferiority to religious knowledge manifest in what may be known historically or biographithem to be seriously pondered. The incidental cally, as we become acquainted with the lives evil is the too frequent exclusiveness and the of ordinary persons; for it would seem a strange, too absorbing influence of natural science, so unwonted, and somewhat unintelligible utterthat while the mind is cultivated the heart is ance of enthusiasm to say, That I may know neglected-while the book of Nature is explored Peter, or Paul, or John, or Wickliffe, or Luther, the book of Scripture is unread-while trea- | or Whitefield, or Knox; but to exclaim, “That sures of knowledge are accumulated, the un- I may know CHRIST," involves ideas of a subsanctified philosopher does not become "rich lime character and touching interest, which towards God." But there are happy instances have relation to the entire scheme of Christiin which the two kinds of wealth in question anity, and which connect themselves with the are secured; for some persons are at once opu- vast realities of eternity. These remarks contain the substance of a discourse delivered at Cambridge, during the meetings of the Scientific Association, which the author attended with great pleasure and personal advantage. His highest desire is to see, in every instance, as he had then the opportunity of witnessing in some, the scientific mind associated with the sanctified heart. No. 18.* I. Our first observation is, that the system of Christianity, in its outward principles and inward power, is more absolutely certain and indubitable than any other kind of knowledge or science in general. Human science has, in the course of ages, undergone great changes, and some very important systems of philosophy have been entirely revolutionized by the progress of discovery. What were once deemed undeniable facts, have been found at length to be egregious mistakes, till the whole system, and even system after system, has been reversed. Of this we have striking demonstrations in regard to astronomy, chemistry, and geology and even at the present period, every year exhibits the uncertainty of human wisdom in the new forms, relations, and evidences that occasion philosophical controversies; so that if anything momentous in our moral condition depended upon the accuracy of our physical researches, the mind could not but be agitated with trepidation and anxiety. of a sense of personal interest in the "truth as it is in Jesus," as well as a clearer percep tion of its glory. Many of the sciences are so difficult of attainment, so far above the reach of ordinary minds, or so remote, even in their elements, from the opportunities of ordinary research, that it cannot be expected they should be appreciated or known. How few, comparatively, could read! the Principia of Newton, or comprehend the calculations of La Place! Common persons would soon be utterly bewildered, not only in the intricate labyrinths of investigation, but in what might seem, to intellects of a superior order, even the plainest paths of science; and unaccustomed to such pursuits, everything would appear to them enigmatical and confused. But of Christ it is recorded that, in imparting | the truths of his religion, "the common people heard him gladly;" and in his own devotional appeal to Heaven, he thus expresses himself: "I thank thee, O Father, that thou hast heard me; and that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." If there be value in the highest reaches of science, that value is somewhat diminished by the fact that comparatively few can ascend to them. If there be value in the knowledge of Christ, that value is in a sense But the great realities of Christianity are in this respect quite dissimilar to the discoveries of human reason and research, or to theories capable of change by the perfecting process of observation. In them is to be distinctly seen a revelation from God, which is stamped with pre-eminent authority, and admits of no correction. "Holy men of God," in the transmission of this heavenly light through the medium of speech and language, "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." If any thing be true, this communication from above | must be truth. It is indubitable and unalter-enhanced by its universal attainableness. It able, as being the mind of the Spirit. It embraces immutable doctrines and eternal principles. It is not a branch of science that needs to be trimmed up, completed, or adjusted to some generally received rule or axiom; it is wisdom itself the "wisdom of God in a mystery." Jesus Christ is "the faithful and true witness;" to "know him," consequently, is, in a spiritual sense, to "know all things." comes down to the depths of the meanest understanding. It is comprehensible by all. The truths of the Gospel can be anywhere and to any one proclaimed-to the prince and to the peasant to the learned and the illiterateto men of every grade and of every clime. They intelligibly express the love, and are the light of Heaven. (To be continued.) NOTES ON WESLEYAN-METHODISM. IV. THE INSTITUTIONS OF WESLEYAN-METHODISM—ITS FUNDS-CONCLUSION. II. Another observation to be made, in the comparison exhibited between science and Christianity, is, that the knowledge of Christ is accessible to all classes of mankind-to men of every order of intellect and capacity. It is of ineffable importance that the doctrine which is intended for the spiritual benefit of all, should be intelligible to all. In the simplicity and explicitness of the communication, "the wis-tutions entitles it to more particular notice here. dom that cometh from above" is adapted to every gradation of intellect. When the Apostle of the Gentiles, in the passage of Holy Writ to which we have referred, prays "that I may know him," he refers not to any supposable measureless profundity of the knowledge, so much as to that experimental feeling of which desired he a deeper consciousness, that increase THE WESLEYAN-METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY has been referred to in a previous paper, but its great importance amongst the Connexional insti Like the Church with which it is connected, it has grown from small beginnings to great magnitude, so that now it employs a greater number of missionary ministers, and receives society in existence. Its executive direction a greater income, than any other missionary is confided to a committee of ministers and laymen, in conjunction with four general secretaries (Revs. Dr Bunting, J. Beacham, Dr NOTES ON WESLEYAN-METHODISM. 207 Alder, and E. Hoole), and two general treasurers (Thomas Farmer, Esq., and Rev. John Scott). One of the "Laws and Regulations" requires that a special committee should also be convened previous to each Conference, in the town where the Conference is about to assemble. To this a number of leading friends from different parts of the country are invited.cently contributed £1,000. The affairs of the Society for the preceding For the last few year the funds of the Soyear are reviewed, and the best modes of fur-ciety were sadly inadequate to meet the outlay, ther advancing its interests considered. All its concerns, however, are under the control of the Conference, by whom the committees and officers are from year to year appointed. in several instances translations of the Scriptures and of religious books and tracts into the native languages have been effected by the mis- || sionaries. Towards the expenses of one of these translations, that of the Bible into the Caffre language, which was fourteen years in process, the British and Foreign Bible Society has re and a heavy debt gradually accumulated. This did not arise from any declension in the liberality of the supporters of the institution, for the income steadily increased; but from the augmenting numbers of members and hearers, and the consequent need of an augmented provision of pastors and teachers. It was an embarrassment arising out of prosperity. It required strenuous efforts to meet the emergency; and large sums were raised for that special object. But it is only just now that the end has been attained. The annual meeting was recently held, and the treasurers found them being able to report that the Society was out of debt, and had even a few hundred pounds in hand. An expedient devised at first as a temporary help in the difficulties of one year was a juvenile Christmas and New Year's offering, the children being asked to give or collect one shilling or upwards each. This scheme was entered into so cordially, that it has been permanently adopted. The juvenile offering for 1845-46, has produced more than £4,000, without interfering with any other source of supply. The total income for 1845 exceeded £112,000. The efforts of the Society are partly directed to the revival of evangelical truth in some of the lands which, though called Christian, are yet largely pervaded by unscriptural errors; but chiefly to the introduction of the Gospel in Heathen countries. In the most spiritually destitute districts of Ireland, it employs 25 missionaries (some of whom can preach in the native language), and maintains 63 day-schools, in which are 4,500 scholars. Its other Euro-selves in the agreeable and novel position of pean stations are in Germany, France, Switzerland, and Gibraltar. In the foreign fields its agents labour in the southern and northern districts of Ceylon, and on the continent of India; in New South Wales, Australia Felix, Southern and Western Australia, Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand, the Friendly Islands, and Feejee; at the Cape of Good Hope, Albany, Caffraria, the Bechuana country, and other parts of Southern Africa; at Sierra Leone, the Gambia, the Gold Coast, Ashante, Badagry (the Slave Coast), and other parts of Western Africa;* at numerous stations in the West India Islands, amongst the negro population, of which some of the earliest and most signal successes of the Society were vouchsafed; in Canada, both amongst the Colonists and the Aborigines; in the Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland districts, and the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company. The general summary of the whole in the last Annual Report is as follows: Central or principal stations, called circuits, occupied by the Society in various parts of the world, 288; chapels and other preaching places at those stations, so far as ascertained, 1,865; missionaries and assistant missionaries, 382; other paid agents, as catechists, interpreters, day-school teachers, &c., 1,608; unpaid agents, as Sabbathschool teachers, &c., 5,104; full and accredited Church members, 102,750; on trial for Church membership, 4,956; scholars in the mission schools, 65,431. Seven printing establishments are maintained on the foreign stations; and, It is not too much to say that the most extraordinary opening presented in modern missionary enterprise is that in Western Africa, through the instrumentality of the Wesleyan missionaries, especially of the Rev. Thomas B. Freeman. It would require an entire paper of the length of the present to give a view of it; but it possesses an interest which might well be called romantic, if it were not too deep and too high to be described by such an epithet. The business of the parent Society is transacted at the "Wesleyan Centenary Hall and Mission House," Bishops-Gate Street Within, London-a building in all respects most suitable, which was presented by the Connexion to the Society from the proceeds of the memorable Centenary Fund. Throughout the country, auxiliary and branch societies are everywhere formed. The converts on the mission stations also aid according to their ability. It is an interesting fact that nearly one-tenth of the whole income of the Society is derived from its foreign auxiliaries. The Society publishes periodically, in addition to its Annual Report, monthly "Missionary Notices," containing extracts from the communications received from missionaries; Quarterly Papers," usually occupied by a sketch of the history and condition of some one mission or station; and a miscellany of missionary information for the young, called "The Wesleyan Juvenile Offering.” The WESLEYAN THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION is properly a College for the improvement of junior teachers, although the less ambitious designation of Institution has been chosen for it. Frem the earliest days of Methodism such an esta |